Brake-beam for railway-cars.



No. 742,169. PATENTED 0M. 27; 1903.

' s. A. GRONB.

BRAKE BEAM FOR RAILWAY CARS. 'APPLIGATION FILED JULY 2a, 1903.

no MODEL.

INVENTOR Sella .zf'mlze ATTORNEY THE nuRms PETERS mi. PHOTOLThQ.k'AEIl-NOTON, a. c.

UNITED STATES Patented October 27, 1903 PATENT OFFICE.

SETH A. CRONE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

BRAKEBEAM FOR RAlLWAY-CARS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Iatent No. 742,169, dated October27, 1903.

Application filed July 23, 1903. Serial No. 166,660. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern: I 7

Be it known that I, SETH A. ORoNE, a citizen of the' United States,and aresident of New York, in the county of New York and State of New York,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Brake Beams forRailway-Cars, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in brake-beams for railway-cars;and it consists in the novel features hereinafter described, andparticularly pointed out in the claims.

Brake-beams of the class to which my invention pertains comprise arolled body member, brake-shoe heads on the ends thereof, and a fulcrumfor the brake-lever, and my invention has for its object to produce anovel and more efficient fulcrum for use in such beams. My invention isspecifically limited to brakebeam fulcrums of forged or rolled metalthat is formed from suitable blanks or pieces cut fromcommercial bars orstructural beams and pressed or trimmed to shape or otherwise given thedesired outlines. Several examples of forged-metal brake-beams are shownin Letters Patent heretofore granted to Seth A. Crone, as follows: No.720,677, dated February 17, 1903; No. 720,678, dated February 17, 1903,and No. 731,668, dated June 23,1903.

One of the difiiculties connected with forged fulcrumsas heretoforemanufactured consisted in providing adequate bearing-surfaces forthebrake-lever pin without producing a fulcrum of undue weight or of bulkycharacter or otherwise unsuitable or undesirable, and my presentinvention has for one of its purposes the production of a-satisfactoryforgedmetal fulcrum having adequate bearing-surfaces for the brake-leverpin. 1

Another purpose of my invention is to produce an efficient fulcrum ofgreat strength and durability from a section of a structural beamorshape, such as an angle-iron, this fulcrum being of double thicknessthroughout and .having its parts so disposed that it maybe inexpensivelyformed of the minimum weight of metal and yet withstand the strainsexerted by the brake-lever.

The invention Will be fully understood fromthe detailed descriptionhereinafter presented, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,in which- Figure 1 is an edge view of a forged-metal brakc-beam fulcrumconstructed in accordance with and embodying the invention, the saidfulcrum being shown as made from two pieces of angle-iron and applied toa flanged body-beam, the latter being shown as partly broken away and insection on the dotted line 1 1 of Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is an elevation of samelooking at the side face of the body-beam. Fig. 3 is a detached top Viewof the fulcrum. Fig. 4 is a section of same on the dotted line 4 4 ofFig. 1, and Fig. 5 is a detached perspective view of a portion of astructural beam from which the two fulcrum Fig. 1 are formed.

The fulcrum shown is in two parts 10.11, respectively secured to thebody-beam 12 and each formed from apiece of'angle-iron beam, such asillustrated in Fig. 5, of suitable length, and whose webs or flanges 1314 are folded into face-to-face contact at one end of the piece to formthe flanges 15 16 of double thickness for engagement with the body beam12, while said webs or flanges 13 14 beyond the beam 12 are separatedfrom each other, the outer webs or flanges 13 being substantially inline with the sides of the beam 12 and the inner webs or flanges 14being set inwardly and angularl'ydisposed to receive between them theusual brake-lever in the customary mannen Each of the two parts of thefulcrum is in one integral piece and'of double thickness from end toend, the webs or flanges being pressed together forfen'gage- ,ment withthe body-beam 12 and left open from each other beyond said beam,although, 2 as will be observed, the webs or flanges 14 will be pressedto some extent from their initial position toward the webs or flanges13, so as to produce the proper angularly-disposed "side portions(represented by said flanges 14) to receive the brake -1ever. (Not.shown.)

The bringing togetherof the webs or flanges 13 14 at the outer end ofthe piece of angleiron to form the flanges 15 16 results in the curvinginwardly of the web or flange 14 adjacent to the beam 12, whereby thesaid flange 14 without being cut may be set into its proper angularrelation required for the operation of the brake-lever.

The fulcrum parts when constructed as parts shown in shown and describedare of great strength and durability and may be made from a minimumweightv of metal, the inner flanges 14 being sustained not only by theflanges 13, but also from the body-beam 12 in a manner enabling saidflanges 14 to properly resist the strains exerted by the brake-lever.

The flanges 14 will preferably be apertured, as at 17, to receive ausual rivet or stay-bolt which is a known feature and is shown in theaforesaid Letters Patent No. 731,668, and the said flanges 14 willbeprovided with apertures 18 to receive the brake-lever pin, and onefeature of my invention pertains to the formation of said apertures 18.The normal thickness of the flanges or sides 14, whether the fulcrumparts are made of rolled angleiron or other shape or of the forged barsrepresented in the aforesaid Letters Patent when the most desirablemetal is used in their manufacture, is inadequate to afford properbearing-surfaces for the brake-lever pin when apertures 18 of thestandard diameter (one and one-eighth of an inch) are directly formed inthem. In carrying out this part of my invention I first punch theapertures 18 of less than the standard diameter in the flanges or sides14 and then enlarge these apertures to the standard or required diameterby forcing their surrounding walls outwardly, wherebyoutwardly-extending horizontal flanges 19, surrounding the apertures 18,are formed, as shown, and these flanges perform three important duties,onebeing that their inner circumferential surfaces afford properbearingsurfaces for the brake-lever pin, and another that theymaterially strengthen the sides 14 and aid in enabling them toresist thestrains exerted by the brake-lever, and the third that they enable theentire fulcrum to be made from forged metal blanks or pieces lackingundue weight or bulkiness or otherwise undesirable either in appearanceor cost or in expense of manufacture or manipulation. The thickness ofthe sides 14 will of course vary with the duties to be performed by thefulcrum; but for an average fulcrum the sides 14 may be of three-eighthsinch thickness and the bearing-surfaces of each flange 19 for thebrake-lever pin may be threequarters of an inch in extent, the said pinthus securing in both sides 14 an inch-and-ahalf bearing.

The formation of the apertures 18 and flanges 19 in the manner abovedescribed results in the inner or facing surfaces of the sides 14 beingleft substantially smooth and flat throughout, and in the innerhorizontal bearing-surfaces within the apertures 18 and flanges 19 beingformed of the durable crust or outer surface of the plate metal insteadof having such raw surface as would be presented if the apertures 18were simply punched, of the standard diameter, directly through thesides 14.

My invention therefore pertains to the fulcrum made from a structural orangle iron shape and to the formation of the bearingapertures for thebrake-lever pin, and while I do not limit this latter feature of theinvention to any special pattern of forged brakebeam fulcrum having the'angularly-disposed sides my invention is confined to forged-metalfulcrums having the angularly-disposed sides between which thebrake-lever is mounted.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The forged-metal brake-beam fulcrum comprising portions 10, 11,having the integral webs or flanges 13, 14, said flanges being broughttogether where they engage the bodybeam and beyond said beam saidflanges 14 being set inwardly to form the angularly-disposed sides toreceive the brake-lever; substantially as set forth.

2. The forged-metal brake-beam fulcrum comprising portions 10, 11, madefrom angleiron, and having the integral webs or flanges 13, 14, saidflanges being brought together where they engage the body-beam andbeyond said beam said flanges 14 being set inwardly to form theangularly-disposed sides to receive the brake-lever; substantially asset forth.

3. The forged-metal brake-beam fulcrum comprising portions 10, 11 havingthe integral webs or flanges 13, 14, said flanges being broughttogetherwhere they engage the bodybeam and separated from face-to-face contactwith each other beyond said beam, the flanges 14 beyond said beamforming the angularlydisposed sides to receive the brake-lever;substantially as set forth.

4. The forged-metal brake-beam fulcrum comprising portions 10, 11 havingthe integral webs or flanges 13, 14, said flanges being brought togetherat one end and formed into the flanges 15, 16 to engage the body-beam,and beyond said beam being separated from face -to -face contact witheach other, the flanges 14 beyond said beam forming theangularly-disposed sides to receive the brakelever; substantially as setforth.

5. A forged-metal brakebeam fulcrum having the angularly-disposed sidesto receive between them the brake-lever, said sides having the apertures18 and outwardly-extending flanges 19 for the brake-lever pin, the innerwalls of said apertures and flanges having for their surfaces the outeror crust portion of the rolled metal; substantially as set forth.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York,this 22d day of July, A. D. 1903.

SETII A. CRONE.

\Vitnesses:

CHAS. C. GILL, ARTHUR MARION.

